Treetop Adventure debuts at Elmwood Park Zoo, Norristown

A young visitor to Elmwood Park Zoo takes a swing on the zip line. Submitted Photo.

NORRISTOWN — Has it been a while since you’ve swung through the trees like Tarzan?

Do you harbor a burning hunger to break free from your civilized cage and bond with nature in a fundamental way, even though your primal survival skills are a little rusty?

Designed for thrill-seekers of all ages, Treetop Adventure Park Philadelphia at Elmwood Park Zoo — created by Treetop Concept LLC — puts kids and adults through their aerial paces with multiple obstacle courses that are marked by challenging games and zip lines to satisfy the average athletic extremist.

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For those not familiar with the exploit, a zip line is formed by a pulley suspended way up in the air on a cable, with the suspended adventure-seeker holding onto or being attached to a free-moving pulley by a harness.

Even if they weren’t raised by apes, folks are finding they can come out and zip through the tree tops 40 feet in the air and have fun while racking up some noble character-building traits since Treetop Adventure opened late last month, said Elmwood Park Zoo’s executive director Al Zone.

“The kids are loving it, the adults are loving it,” he said. “What’s exciting about this for the zoo is that it’s going to teach the importance of the trees and nature, but it’s also about getting kids outside doing something a little riskier, where they have to trust their equipment and trust others.”

Although sloughing off the constraints of an everyday existence to frolic in the treetops as you dangle above bison, elk and the gently rippling waters of Stony Creek can be a lot of fun, it’s also an exhausting workout, noted Shaun Rogers, the zoo’s marketing director.

“What you don’t realize until you get up there and actually do it is that the games in the trees take a lot of coordination and you definitely work up a sweat and work a lot of muscles you didn’t even know you had,” he said.

With the zoo’s savvy marketing mill always churning, fitness facilities such as CrossFit have already been targeted about this strength-and-aerobic-building field trip, Zone allowed.

“The businesses that already partner with the zoo want to add this as a corporate benefit for their employees,” he added.

With a height requirement of three feet, the “Junior Palooza” course is geared for kids ages 5 through 9 and ensures that no one is ever more than eight feet above the ground, which allows parents to tag along from below.

The upper course, called “The Great Escape,” is designed for adults and kids who are at least 54 inches tall.

Since the zoo is primarily about education, there will be information about the trees and surroundings that people can read from the platforms, Zone noted.

“The upper course is great for families to do, as long as they meet the proper requirements for height,” he said. “The kids’ course, depending on how busy it is, could take anywhere from an hour, to almost two hours to complete. The adult course can take up to two and a half hours.”

Safety is assured through a cable system called CliC-iT that has been proven to hold an object a lot heavier than anyone coming through the gates of Elmwood Park Zoo.

“The guy at Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey wanted to prove to people that the zip line course is safe, so they suspended a Ford 250 truck from the middle of the line to show the strength,” said Zone, who consulted with other zoos prior to the partnership with Treetop Adventure, which has thoughtfully — and safely — arranged for visitors to St. Augustine Alligator Farm in Florida to zip across alligators.

“We looked at all different types of courses,” Zone said. “We loved Mike Smith’s (Treetop Concept, LLC founder) creativity in his designs, so we were very fortunate to form this partnership. What’s even more exciting is that this is an actual major now at universities that people take to do this. Not just design treetop parks, but run and manage parks as well.”

No trees were damaged in the making of Treetop Adventure, Zone noted.

“You’ll notice how everything is braced around the trees. Every so many years it gets updated and gets readjusted for expansion. It actually makes the trees stronger.”

Treetop Adventure is open outside of zoo hours, from 9 a.m. until sunset.

“We have a night course for 15 or more people, who wear lights strapped on to do the course,” Zone explained. “We have an online and call-in reservation system, so those people get priority. We’re very excited to have this in Montgomery County because of what it can do for team building programs. It’s perfect for the community. We want more and more groups to know about it.”

The “Junior Palooza” course for children is $22, while “The Great Escape” course for children and adults is $38 for 17 years old and younger; $49 for 18 years old and older. Zoo admission is included with every course purchase. Elmwood Park Zoo members receive 10 percent off Treetop Adventure admission. Groups of 15 or more receive 10 percent off.